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June 28, 2010

McCall's 3435 and the Dreaded One Note Bird

When Mr. Pattern Junkie and I first moved in together, we rented a nice little house (emphasis on "little") in the hills near the Hollywood Reservoir. The house, besides listing so badly to one side that visitors would be momentarily seasick when they entered, had one major flaw: the Dreaded One Note Bird.

The Dreaded One Note Bird had a "song" consisting of one monotone note: tweet. Every time the same length, the same note, usually at very regular intervals. All day, every day. Now, you could go days without noticing the Dreaded One Note Bird. But then, suddenly, it would permeate your consciousness: tweet.

At that moment, you knew you were doomed. Because then, the only thing you could notice for the rest of the day was the incessant tweet of the Dreaded One Note Bird.

What, you may ask, does any of this have to do with McCall's 3435, what with its pretty Peter Pan collar, flared skirt and knife pleats? Really, it's just a darling dress:

Except for that chair.

The more I look at this illustration, the less I can tear my eyes away from the chair. Why is it there? Why? What mad impulse made the illustrator think, "Hmm, this drawing needs a little something more...a little something to, oh, draw the eye away from the dresses...Should I put a plant? A tiki stand? A garden umbrella? No, a chair would be perfection!"

Really, I try to focus on the pretty puffed sleeves of the yellow version or the knife pleats and pearls -- but DEAR GOD WHY IS THERE A CHAIR IN THE BACKGROUND?! And why, if you must put a chair there, why oh why dash off the plainest most boring chair ever seen? Put some effort into a wingback, please, or maybe entertain me with a chaise lounge or -- WHY THE CHAIR? Is there some symbolism I'm missing? Some hidden message?! Is this a statement, or are you just messing with my mind?

Tweet. Tweet.

Comments

McCall's 3435 and the Dreaded One Note Bird

When Mr. Pattern Junkie and I first moved in together, we rented a nice little house (emphasis on "little") in the hills near the Hollywood Reservoir. The house, besides listing so badly to one side that visitors would be momentarily seasick when they entered, had one major flaw: the Dreaded One Note Bird.

The Dreaded One Note Bird had a "song" consisting of one monotone note: tweet. Every time the same length, the same note, usually at very regular intervals. All day, every day. Now, you could go days without noticing the Dreaded One Note Bird. But then, suddenly, it would permeate your consciousness: tweet.

At that moment, you knew you were doomed. Because then, the only thing you could notice for the rest of the day was the incessant tweet of the Dreaded One Note Bird.

What, you may ask, does any of this have to do with McCall's 3435, what with its pretty Peter Pan collar, flared skirt and knife pleats? Really, it's just a darling dress:

Except for that chair.

The more I look at this illustration, the less I can tear my eyes away from the chair. Why is it there? Why? What mad impulse made the illustrator think, "Hmm, this drawing needs a little something more...a little something to, oh, draw the eye away from the dresses...Should I put a plant? A tiki stand? A garden umbrella? No, a chair would be perfection!"

Really, I try to focus on the pretty puffed sleeves of the yellow version or the knife pleats and pearls -- but DEAR GOD WHY IS THERE A CHAIR IN THE BACKGROUND?! And why, if you must put a chair there, why oh why dash off the plainest most boring chair ever seen? Put some effort into a wingback, please, or maybe entertain me with a chaise lounge or -- WHY THE CHAIR? Is there some symbolism I'm missing? Some hidden message?! Is this a statement, or are you just messing with my mind?